Bogus charges from Frontier Communications

I signed up Aug 3 for basic cable for 3 TVs with one expansion level of channels (no movies), internet and landline phone - a triple play. The advertised price on their site for Texas is $79.99. My first bill for Aug and Sept services was $675.

Let's start with installation. It took Frontier 4 visits to my home by 4 different technicians to get all of my services running. The original installation tech was only able to get 2 out of 3 TVs working, telling me the issue must be "inside my walls". I researched various methods to get the 3rd TV (in my living room) to work... A newish Sony smart TV, and eventually concluded the issue had to be Frontier. Called customer service multiple times, a min of one hour/call, where it was given all kinds of excuses for why the 3rd TV wouldn't work. The prevailing opinion from Frontier was that it was a TV issue and I needed to contact the manufacturer. Never mind that the TV worked just fine with my previous provider, AT&T. I insisted they send a tech out to take another luck. Sure enough, tech 2 was able to get it working, discovering an error by tech 1. This resulted in $271 in technician charges to my bill....despite the fact that the error was on the part of Frontier. I have contacted Frontier countless times via phone, chat and email. I eventually was able to get $79.99 in charges reversed, but still waiting for $191 in credits 60 days later. And now their collections dept is calling me... Because I refuse to pay their bogus charges.

Next - the monthly service charges. The advertised price was $79.99. I have 3 TVs, so add $19.99 --- roughly $100/month plus taxes and fees. Their billing adds up to over $170 in monthly charges plus. As with the bogus technician charges, I've tried multple times to have these charges reviewed... In vain. Talk about bait and switch!

Post install issues: after the techs got my TVs working I had to have a 3rd tech come out and get the landline working. I only added this service because it was part of the triple play price. They should have tested it using their equipment (I didn't have a phone for a few weeks since I didn't necessarily need this service)... When I tried to use, no dial tone. Again, more calls to Frontier with several different tech support people attempting to get it it working remotely. Ultimately another tech came out and fixed it. Another gap from initial install. Then, the new fall TV shows began and I attempted to use DVR and On Demand. Nope...didn't work. TV screen messages said to contact my cable provider to subscribe to this service, despite being billed for it since install date. Again, they were unable to repair remotely, had to send out a 4th tech. Another issue from initial install. And... forget getting them to show you how to use your remote control. These are all former Verizon techs who still are unsure of the Frontier remote control usage.

Customer service - all of the employees with Frontier have been courteous, and some actually tried to help. Several promised credits, submitting them line by line. However, I've learned that the front line agents are not empowered to process the credits they promise. They submit the request internally (even they can't tell you where the requests go) where the credits are denied by a person I've never spoken to, who doesn't understand what happened. It is impossible to speak to anyone other than front line agents. I have contacted Frontier several times via email and all they do is tell me i have to contact them via phone or chat. They refuse to have anyone contact me, I have to call them, and I'm limited to dealing with an unempowered front line.

I feel like I'm going in circles. Every time I speak to an agent via phone or chat, I have to start all over again. Most agents don't document our discussion. In the meantime, I now have a huge bill staring me in the face full of bogus charges and a company that clearly doesn't value my business. I am switching to TWC, but need to get this billing issue resolved so that it doesn't continue to haunt me.

Frontier has some massive problems and it is well that you have switched to TWC. Figure out what the bill should actually be and pay that amount along with a letter disputing the rest of the charges. They won't read it or do anything other than turn you over to a collection agency. However, do NOT pay something you don't owe just to make it go away. Just ignore any further attempts to collect it and take the "hit" on your credit score.

Hello, Michelle. I am very sorry to hear about the experience you have had. We are here to help. Please send us an email to AskFrontier@ftr.com with the subject ATTN: Tim/Krystle so my team can assist with a resolution. -Krystle